Chapter 85: The Thunderbird!

Zhao Fang was dreaming again. But now, he no longer felt any resistance toward his dreams; instead, there was a sense of familiarity. After all, he saw these dreamscapes every night after falling asleep. It would be impossible not to grow accustomed to them.

These past few nights, Zhao Fang's dreams had all taken place in darkness. Though it was dull, he’d gradually gotten used to such an existence. He had assumed that tonight’s dream would be the same—that he’d spend another night in shadow. But unexpectedly, light appeared before him once more.

His vision brightened. He knew this meant a challenger had arrived; he could once again witness ancient trainers raising and commanding Pokémon. Soon, he saw the high tower materialize a clearing, the sky overhead roiling with thunderclouds, lightning flickering across it, and below, a stretch of water.

“An Electric-type arena?” Zhao Fang mused. The scene was clearly the home field for Electric-type Pokémon, though he didn’t know which one.

As he wondered which fictional Pokémon would appear this time, a crisp bird cry rang out. Then, a Zapdos burst through the dark clouds, beating its wings as bolts of lightning danced around it. In that moment, Zapdos looked like a god descending from the heavens.

“Zapdos? Who is this challenger? How did they trigger a legendary beast right away?” Zhao Fang’s eyes widened. He’d spent some time speculating about the tower’s mechanisms: he suspected the tower would simulate a Pokémon battle based on the challenger’s own Pokémon species. Failure might mean death, though not always; after all, the previous Sharpedo had undergone MEGA Evolution.

But the opposing Pokémon's strength was always determined by the challenger’s Pokémon. That much was certain.

As Zhao Fang pondered which Pokémon could possibly face a legendary like Zapdos, he saw the tower’s door open. A woman rode in atop a red Gyarados.

His eyes widened even further. He’d considered many possibilities, but never imagined the challenger would be a red Gyarados. Gyarados was four times weak against Electric-types—how could it possibly face a legendary like Zapdos? Unless the scriptwriter gave it the Lightning Rod ability, Zhao Fang would have nothing to say.

Despite his utter confusion, the battle before him clearly wouldn’t pause for his questions. He abandoned his wild speculations and focused on the fight.

He watched, so absorbed he forgot time was passing, his eyes fixed on the red Gyarados unleashing its power. When Zhao Fang finally regained consciousness, he was staring at the swaying ceiling.

“What a thrilling dream,” he muttered, feeling an urge to go back to sleep and watch Gyarados battle Zapdos again. But as he climbed out of bed, a wave of nausea surged from his abdomen.

He rushed to the bathroom and vomited for a while before realizing a fact: not only was he afraid of heights, he also got seasick.

“This is unbearable...” Zhao Fang sighed, forcing himself through the nausea and crawling back onto his bed to sit against the wall.

He’d just witnessed Gyarados battle Zapdos. Though Zapdos was only a simulated legendary, it was still Zapdos. Most surprising, though, was that the Gyarados was evenly matched, showing no signs of falling behind. One move from Gyarados sparked an idea in Zhao Fang.

He’d been considering how to make Gyarados’s fighting style more threatening. He’d thought about teaching it Fly, only to discover Gyarados couldn’t learn that move.

But the Gyarados in his dream revealed another possibility: it used Waterfall in the middle of a flat water arena!

The Gyarados soared skyward, catching Zapdos off guard, and whipped its tail in a Water Tail attack right across Zapdos’s eyes. Zhao Fang was fired up, eager to see how Gyarados would thrash the legendary. But then he woke, shaken awake by the rocking of the ship.

“It’s only three thirty in the morning…” Zhao Fang groaned. The ship was rocking so much he was questioning his existence.

It was like someone prone to motion sickness being stuffed into an especially bumpy, fuel-smelling, foot-stinking long-distance coach—a hellish experience.

With that thought, Zhao Fang decided to check out the training area. Since he boarded the cruise, he hadn’t visited it yet. With it being so late, there shouldn’t be anyone else around. He could let Gyarados try some moves from his dream.

Though it was nighttime, there were still a few sailors patrolling the ship. Seeing Zhao Fang’s pale face, they grinned with a hint of schadenfreude. An older sailor kindly handed him a glass of water to help him recover.

After thanking the sailor, Zhao Fang made his way to the training room at the top of the cruise ship. Inside, it was pitch black—nothing visible. He fumbled around and turned on the lights. The glare made him squint; when he opened his eyes again, he saw someone sitting in the center of the training area.

“?” Zhao Fang quietly wondered why someone would be in the training room at three thirty in the morning.

Apparently disturbed by the light, the person raised his head, revealing a gloomy face. He was a man with purple hair, looking as though malnourished. If his face were any more gaunt, Zhao Fang thought he could play a ghost without any makeup.

“Hello?” Zhao Fang greeted.

The man stared silently at Zhao Fang, then lowered his head again, engaged in something unknown. Zhao Fang didn’t press further; the sailor at the entrance hadn’t mentioned any warnings, so he simply released his Gyarados.

Gyarados seemed to have just woken up, a bit bewildered after being released from its Poké Ball. But after Zhao Fang explained the situation, it perked up considerably.

“Gyarados, your training plan needs to change. You don’t know enough Water-type moves. I want you to learn Aqua Tail.” Zhao Fang remembered the Gyarados from his dream, soaring skyward with Waterfall, then nearly knocking Zapdos down with Aqua Tail.

Gyarados let out a roar, then began to follow Zhao Fang’s instructions, trying to gather water around its tail to increase the force of its strikes.

“Wrap your tail in water, then use the power of the current to attack your enemy.” It was a little trick Zhao Fang had seen in his dream.